Day 257

a few years ago while browsing the career and college section of borders bookstore i found this book. the literary documentary impressed me with its fresh perspective and thrill and the idea of traveling around and interviewing important people was more than inspiring for my fresh, high-school-completed mind. i put that green book back on the shelf that same pre-college summer and haven't thought about it since.

now tonight i've had some random thoughts that have just reminded me of that project.

and after watching all this cnn and all that political news and trying to forge some sort of an informed and solid political opinion, i had a wild idea. all this news and transition of power made me wonder about what george bush is up to. the news says he's back in texas. back home on his ranch. and unlike his predecessor, bush might have half a shot at going to live a somewhat unspotlighted post-career. i read today that he'd experienced one of the lowest approval ratings so i'd imagine he be left alone for a little while. even the t.v. talking heads said something to cause enough curiosity for me to research it a bit.

i want to vagabond around texas some day. and try to meet george bush. and have conversations. at least one conversation. i told you that this was crazy, but i never could have dreamt this current adventure and ties and experiences as they've happened and i'm not really about denying future ideas.

i'd imagine that somehow i'd find myself sitting with him on some sort of back porch overlooking some texan plains and i'd ask some questions. i'd have a notebook and maybe it would work out that he would be willing to talk with someone young who isn't there to grill or judge or exploit or bother. that's the extent of the plan so far.

just a wild idea. if you have connections then email me.



heres a couple pictures of nate from the trip to whitefish, montana. click for full size.

Day 10

we were sitting around the rec office late last night when dave confirmed his full gas tank to our group's undecided journey. tim and i figured out the cost of splitting surf rental fees and jen made some calls to find the best surf shops in tofino. as we chilled after our day of work, we talked bout going to a nearby beach for either the night or early in the morning, but one thing led to another and ideas bounced around the room until we decided to leave at 5:30 am the next morning to make the 3 plus hour drive to surf. to prepare for our journey and to continue to fuel the excitement that had previously been conceived through earlier considerations of a spur-of-the-moment mountain camping trips and such, we watched 'into the wild.' morning came and thus began the great day-off surf trip.

five of us packed into dave's orange, two-door toyota tercell. our backpacks barely fit in the trunk and our knees were sacrificed to the already tight confines of the economy car, but we were all pumped to be heading through the woodland highway for the adventure that laid ahead. such experiences included stopping to take pictures of wild, rocky rapids and small rock-climbing excursions and pocket change coffee stops at tired looking gas stations. at one point, we pulled to the shoulder to get out of the car and i headed towards a black bear to get a quick picture of the two of us and then we all piled back in. no injuries. picture to come.

the coastal city destination invited us with a restaurant sign for $2 tacos. our group readily agreed to this but we ended up settling for breakfast at a waterfront place because tacos aren't served in the morning. shame. then we rented wet suits and added surfboards to the top of our already overloaded vehicle.

misty grey skies and temperatures somewhere in the american 60's greeted us at the mountain-bordered beach. six foot waves crashed rhythmically and powerfully to bring icy waters to our ankles. we stayed at the beach and surfed for several hours. i had a really good 3 seconds at one point on the board.

on the ride home, music and conversations were interrupted several times by three more black bear sightings and a couple stops to take pictures at more beaches and mountains and at a giant troll-dwarf thing. so much more happened but it's well past midnight and there are things we'll be doing around camp tomorrow morning. good day.